FINANCE Minister Fayval Williams has poured cold water on the alternative revenue measures presented by the parliamentary Opposition, declaring bluntly that “it can’t be done”.

Closing the 2026/27 Budget Debate in the House of Representatives on Tuesday, Williams pushed back against recommendations advanced by Opposition spokesman on finance Julian Robinson and Opposition Leader Mark Golding, rejecting their proposals as unworkable.

Riding momentum from a slate of policy announcements outlined by Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness during his March 19 budget presentation, Williams argued that “the cornerstones to move us from resilience to resurgence have been set and driven by the builder himself, Prime Minister Andrew Holness”.

She then recapped the litany of mega projects mentioned by Holness that will be implemented through the National Reconstruction and Resilience Authority (NaRRA), saying that NaRRA “will enable execution of resilient infrastructure projects at a scale and speed this country has never seen before”.

“Jamaicans can expect a new and different Jamaica to unfold over the next three to five years, right before our very eyes,” she told the House before turning to the specific proposals made by the Opposition.

Both Robinson and Golding had offered countermeasures to the $18-billion tax package that forms part of the budget. They had also offered alternatives to the continued annual drawdown of $11.4 billion from the National Housing Trust (NHT) as non-tax revenue.

Williams immediately declared the proposal from Robinson to raise $8.6 billion from e-invoicing as unworkable.

“I have to ask, what can go so?” she said sarcastically.

Pointing out that it takes time for such a system to be put in place, and speaking directly to Robinson, Williams said, “Opposition spokesman on finance, there are no e-invoicing revenues that can be realistically expected in the upcoming fiscal year, 2026/27 — nor, might I add, in the next fiscal year — to replace $8.6 billion of revenue measures.

“There is no magic bullet of e-invoicing gains that every global expert knows take years to materialise. So let’s X that figure out,” Williams said, adding, “This Government will not gamble with the future of our country.

“We do not seek to score cheap political points by entrusting the future of the vulnerable, the continued stability of the Jamaican dollar, the sustainability of our national debt, and our hard-earned reputation for central Government’s prudent fiscal management, on the fantasy of major software upgrades happening overnight,” she added.

“We have chosen the path of fiscal responsibility because it is the only credible path that leads to a stable recovery — and that is the house that this side will continue to build,” she said.

Regarding tapping into so-called digital nomads as a revenue source, Williams said the proposal “reflects a worthwhile instinct but it illustrates the difference between identifying a promising concept and presenting a fully developed fiscal instrument”.

“A digital nomad programme may well have merit as part of a broader strategy to diversify Jamaica’s visitor economy, attract long-stay remote workers, and stimulate spending in select sectors; however, it does not yet stand up as a sufficiently robust revenue measure for replacing the revenue measures in the upcoming fiscal year,” Williams stated.

She argued that the issue is not that the idea lacks potential, but that it has been advanced without the level of policy architecture, implementation detail, and fiscal realism required for serious budget planning.

“The proposal points in an interesting direction but it requires considerably more work on eligibility, infrastructure, tax treatment, housing implications, health coverage, administrative design, and projected returns before it can credibly be presented as a measure capable of materially strengthening the Government’s revenue position for the upcoming fiscal year 2026/27. And so, I will also X that figure out for this upcoming fiscal year,” said Williams.

She also dismissed Robinson’s proposal to take $1 billion from Factories Corporation of Jamaica, which she pointed out is the Government entity that develops, leases, and manages industrial and commercial real estate throughout Jamaica.

“The primary goal of Factories Corporation is to drive economic growth by providing the infrastructure needed for businesses to operate. So, Opposition spokesman on finance, are you sure you want to take $1 billion out of a company that helps to drive economic growth? I don’t think so; I will X this one out as well,” she said.

Williams also dismissed the suggestion to take $1 billion from the Bank of Jamaica (BOJ), stating that, “of all the things the spokesman on finance said, the one that alarms me the most is that he said he would take an additional $1 billion from the Bank of Jamaica”.

She told the House that the BOJ, by law, determines the level of dividends that can reasonably be transferred in any year to the central government.

“There are strict guidelines in law. It is not advisable that a minister of finance calls the Bank of Jamaica and takes an additional $1 billion,” she said, asking “So what happens if you need $20 billion, $100 billion, $200 billion, would you simply take it from Bank of Jamaica?”

The finance minister said it appears Robinson was telegraphing the intention of the Opposition if it ever sits in the seat of Government. She reminded that the amendments to the BOJ Act, which established the inflation-targeting regime and central bank independence, place explicit and stringent guard rails around how resources can move from the BOJ to Government.

“So I am X-ing out the $1 billion from the Bank of Jamaica,” she told Robinson. “The maths is not ‘maths-ing’ for the Opposition,” she added mockingly.

She told the Opposition that, “When you replace recurring revenue streams — which is what the NHT contributions and the revenue measures are — when you replace those with debt, you have to keep borrowing because next year you will be in the same position. You have to find borrowed funds again to replace the recurring NHT and revenue measures; and it never stops, obviously, unless you cut expenditure and/or get additional revenues.”

Regarding the Opposition leader, Williams noted that Golding identified revenues of about two per cent of gross domestic product from increased compliance. Projecting that amount to be $77 billion, Williams asked, “If the Opposition leader identified $77 billion of new revenues from compliance, why then would the Opposition spokesman on finance need to borrow any money at all?

“It appears the left hand is not coordinating with the right hand. A prime minister-in-waiting and a finance-minister-in waiting are possibly not talking. Again, what can go so?” said Williams.

Golding used much of his budget presentation to repeat and remind of promises the People’s National Party made during the last general election campaign but, according to Williams, they are “not anchored in reality”, and are plans which the “Jamaican people are not likely to see fulfilled”.

The finance minister pointed to the billions of dollars the Opposition’s proposals would cost, and proceeded to “demonstrate how unhinged are the many proposals that the leader of the Opposition has put forward”.